Prevent Ingrown Facial Hair

Ingrown facial hair occurs when the sharp ends of hairs grow back into your skin after they have been removed with methods such as shaving, waxing or tweezing. When ingrown facial hair penetrates the skin, the area can become irritated and inflamed, causing pain, itchiness, and redness. There are several ways to prevent ingrown facial hair in addition to avoiding the process of hair removal.

Steps

Using Your Cleansing Routine to Prevent Ingrown Facial Hairs

1. Wash your face every day. Ingrown hairs occur more frequently when you have dirty or oily skin, especially on your face. Wash your face every day with a mild cleanser to help prevent your pores from clogging and creating more ingrown facial hairs.
2. Exfoliate your face regularly. Exfoliating will help clean away the dead skin cells that often end up clogging your pores and lead to more ingrown hairs. Depending on your skin type, you should be able to exfoliate your face up to three times per week.
   • Rub an exfoliating sponge or loofah in tiny circular motions on your face using exfoliating cleanser, avoiding the sensitive skin below your eyes.
   • Rinse your face with warm water and apply facial moisturizer that contains alpha- or beta- hydroxy acids to aid in the exfoliation process.
   • You can make your own natural exfoliating cleanser by mixing 1 tsp (5ml) of baking soda with 1 tbsp (15ml) of liquid soap.
3. Moisturize your face daily. This will help keep your skin smooth and encourage hair growth in the right direction. The smoother your skin is, the less likely it will be for you to get ingrown hairs.
   • Apply moisturizers labeled as non-comedogenic to minimize clogging your skin pores.

Preventing Ingrown Facial Hairs By Shaving Properly

1. Shave your face when the hair is already wet. Wash your skin no more than five minutes prior to shaving. This will help prevent more ingrown facial hairs because moist, wet hair will cut easier with less irritation to the skin or the follicle.
   • Dry, tough hair sometimes digs sideways or retracts back into your skin when it is pulled upward from its follicle.
2. Choose the right kind of razor. If you want to use a regular razor instead of an electric one, use a single-blade razor instead of a double-blade razor. These kinds of razors will give you a closer shave with a smaller chance of developing ingrown facial hairs.
   • Double-blade razors will cause the first blade to lift your hair, while the second blade cuts your hair at a deeper point.
3. Use sharp, clean razor blades. This will give you a straighter, more consistent cut when shaving. Doing so will also help prevent future ingrown facial hairs because hair that is cut consistently in the same way with sharp, sharp blades is less likely to turn into an ingrown hair.
   • Dull, dirty, and rusted blades may cause a bacterial infection if ingrown hairs or other cuts are already present.
   • Rinse your blade after each shaving stroke to clean shaving foam and hair pieces from the blade.
4. Use the right shaving gel. Apply shaving gels or shaving foams with lubricating ingredients that lack alcohol. Products that contain alcohol will dry your skin and close your skin pores.
5. Shave each area of your skin once. This is an important step because repeating strokes in the same areas will result in shorter hairs which increase your chances of developing ingrown hairs. This is especially true regarding the delicate skin on your face.
6. Shave methodically and carefully. This includes refraining from pulling your skin taut while shaving. This helps prevent the hairs from being cut too short. If you cut the hairs too short, they will be more likely to develop into ingrown hairs.
   • Shave your hair in the same direction in which it grows. This will train the hair to grow straight out instead of sideways or back into the skin in addition to preventing it from being cut too short.
   • Use downward strokes on your upper lip, cheeks and chin and use upward strokes on your neck.
7. Use an electric razor. If you shave using an electric razor, it can help reduce the number of ingrown hairs you get on your face since an electric razor does not shave as close to the skin as regular blades.

Preventing Ingrown Facial Hairs While Waxing or Plucking

1. Use a warm compress. Press a warm, wet washcloth to your face before waxing or plucking. This will help open up your pores which will, in turn, prevent ingrown hairs from developing.
2. Relax your facial muscles. This is an important step to adhere to during the moment of hair removal. If your facial muscles are tense, it will be harder to remove the individual hairs because the follicles will constrict.
3. Perform the necessary aftercare. Apply cold water, aftershave, or witch hazel to your face immediately after hair removal. These elements will help soothe and repair your skin after plucking or waxing, especially since the skin on your face is so delicate.
   • Wait two to three hours after removing hair to apply cream or heavy moisturizers to your face.
   • Applying creams or heavy moisturizers immediately may clog your pores.

Treating Ingrown Hairs

1. Pluck the ingrown hair when you’re able to. Ingrown hairs can lead to an infection, but at the very least they look bad and can become very tender or uncomfortable. This is especially troubling when they appear in noticeable places on your face.
   • Ingrown hairs need to come out. Once you notice an ingrown hair, stop shaving or waxing the area at once so that the hair has an opportunity to grow for a little bit. You should never break the skin or dig into it in order to reach an ingrown hair. Instead, you should let it come to the surface on its own so you don’t do more damage to your skin.
   • The safest way to extract an ingrown hair is by pulling it out with tweezers. However, you have to wait for the hair to reach the surface on its own before you can do so.
   • Apply a hot compress to the area a couple of times a day to encourage the hair to reach the surface.
2. Treat the irritated skin. Sometimes the worst part about an ingrown hair is how it looks, especially when it is on your face for the whole world to see. Ingrown hairs can really irritate and damage healthy skin. Treat the damaged skin with some soothing aloe vera or a gentle moisturizer.
3. Get antibiotics. In rare cases, you may need to go see your doctor for some antibiotics if your ingrown facial hair becomes infected. Since the ingrown hair creates an opening in your skin, it is possible for bacteria to seep into the hole and cause an infection. Whenever you have an ingrown hair, you should be vigilant in watching for signs of redness, swelling, and discomfort that last more than a few days. If the pain and swelling does not dissipate within three to four days, call your doctor and tell them about your symptoms.

Tips

• Some people are more prone to ingrown hairs. Hair that curls naturally or is coarse is more likely to re-enter the skin. Many African-Americans, Latinos, and people with thick or curly hair develop pseudofolliculitis, or razor bumps.

Sources and Citations

See also

• Use Pomade for Your Beard
• Grow a Hipster Beard
• Use a Beard Trimmer
• Grow a Goatee
• Grow Facial Hair
• Grow a Mustache
• Grow Sideburns
• Maintain Stubble
• Grow a Handlebar Mustache
• Manage Your Beard

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• Avoid Bumps When Plucking Hair